Things are Different Now
by imma dino hear me roar
Summary: After getting lost in the desert and finding a city to stay in, two friends realise that they're nowhere near home anymore. They try to find more information about what happened to them, but something goes wrong. Their paths stray. One is presumed dead. The other, well she's in a lot of trouble. Deidara/OC and Zetsu/OC/Gaara


Hello Internet, I'm Nat, I'm your author for this story. I don't own any Naruto characters, Masashi Kishimoto-sama does. Enjoy the chapter and story!

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"Damn it, Cooper, you sure this is cool?"

"Damn it, Jade , stop calling me by my last name."

"Whatever, Emily. I'm just not sure that we should be doing this." The nervous sixteen-going on seventeen-year old mumbled, looking around in the dark alley behind the mall.

"Oh don't be such a goody-goody. Live a little, Jade _Reigns_." The eccentric seventeen-going on eighteen-year old smirked at her best friend as she mocked her by using her last name. She wanted the two friends to be partners-in-crime but Jade was never amused by such ideas.

Jade was a petite girl. Pale with shaggy brown hair that was tied back with a green ribbon, reaching her back. Her chocolate brown eyes were liars, making you think that she was an innocent girl when really she had a very dark mind. It was just that she never acted upon those dark thoughts of hers. Her outfit today was a purple blouse and black skirt with green tights. She wore black combat boots and a marble style choker to complete everything. On her wrist was a symbol of grass, for Kusagakure.

Emily seemed like an average girl. Short, auburn hair fell into her face and brushed just past her shoulders. Her green eyes were full of mischief, telling you that she was a girl who was up for anything. Her outfit was a grey Nirvana shirt with dark blue jeans and matching converse sneakers. She had on a necklace with the Iwagakure symbol on it.

They were both big fans of the series Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, but right now, anime wasn't on their minds.

"I just don't want to end up as those girls you see on the six o' clock news."

"It's just a concert, Jade. What could possibly happen? We're only going to be gone for a day, no one will notice." Emily tried to persuade her best friend, who gave out a heavy sigh in return.

"If you say so. You got my back if something happens, right?" Paranoid Jade questioned, to which Emily gave an eager nod. "Let's ride." Jade finally gave in, jumping into the black convertible that was parked behind the mall. Emily smirked then got into the driver's seat, seeing as how she was the one who could actually drive, and started the engine.

"Trust me, Jade. You're never going to forget this day." Emily giggled softly as she drove out of the area, and to their desired destination.

The concert they were heading to was way far out, so it was going to take a long car ride. Instead of listening to the radio like a normal car ride, Jade was watching an episode of Naruto Shippuden on her phone while Emily listened to the audio. They were watching the Kazekage Retrieval Arc. Just when Deidara infiltrates Sunagakure and is confronted by Gaara

Although best friends, the two were pretty different. In this instance, their preference of characters were opposite of the other. Emily was absolutely infatuated with the blonde terrorist, Deidara, but always hated the antagonists like the Akatsuki or the Sound Ninja. Jade, on the other hand, was practically in love with Sabaku no Gaara, but never really cared for the protagonists except for maybe Naruto himself and the sweet little Hinata. She favoured the Akatsuki, and mostly the bad guys excluding the Uchiha Clan.

The two friends did put their preferences aside so they could comment on which ninjas were most skilled, which jutsus were most powerful, which battles were the most memorable.

Jade had been following the manga so she was ahead of Emily, although Emily wasn't far behind. They both had already seen this Arc., it was just one of their favourites so they wanted to pass the time with it. Emily was tempted to look at the screen but her focus had to be at the road. Giving into her temptations, Emily lowered her head just enough to see the screen of the phone and the road at the same time.

She could still see the road, she just didn't know where she was going.

Emily took the exit she thought she needed to take in order for her to go to the concert, which was two entire states away. Just before they met up behind the mall, she filled the convertible with a full tank of gas, at her own expense, so they wouldn't have to stop for gas anytime soon.

On the last episode of the Kazekage Retrieval Arc., Jade's eyes wandered to the windshield and her eyes widened. Her brown eyes took in the breathtaking sight of the grainy, sandy, deserted wasteland that they were driving in. They were still on the road, but there were no other cars in sight. Jade had to admire the beauty of the blending sand's terrain and the sky which was not a shade of blue like how it would normally be, creating an everlasting image in her mind, before she finally thought of something.

"Emily, where is this concert? Do we have to pass this desert?" Jade questioned, raising an eyebrow as her best friend gave her an incredulous look.

"What desert?" Emily asked, then turned her attention to the road. "…Shit…" Immediately after her curse, the automobile barked and then stopped, then began to hiss. "…Double shit…" She and Jade jumped out of the car to find out what happened. Emily propped up the hood of the car only to be devoured by smoke.

"…So I take it that you made a wrong turn at Albuquerque?" Jade joked, earning a glare from Emily.

"I must've made a wrong exit somewhere and worn out the car. Damn it." Emily facepalmed at herself, and Jade sighed then leaned against the car.

Jade closed her eyes in thought, they were in the middle of a desert and they couldn't leave. Maybe they could call for someone, but they didn't know where they were. She pulled out her cell phone again and was about to call a mechanic, but unfortunately she didn't have any connection, which was odd, considering the fact that they were just able to watch anime online.

"No connection." She muttered. Emily could barely hear her. "I can't even get to the internet so that we can find out how to fix the car."

"Then we'll do it ourselves." Emily said with determination in her voice. She glared at the car. "I am getting to that concert. I paid good money for those tickets."

"You mean you were the highest bidder on a crappy auction site?"

"Whatever." Emily said bitterly as Jade rolled her eyes.

As her eyes teased her friend, Jade spotted something that resembled walls that seemed to be made out of sand and dirt. She narrowed her eyes and peeked through the cracks and saw that it was something like a city or a village. _How did I not notice that before? _She questioned herself. She took a couple of steps forward towards the protected city and estimated how long it would take to get there by foot. Probably about fifteen minutes.

"Em. Emily." Jade called for the attention of her friend who was trying to fix the car. "There's a city over there. Maybe they have someone who can fix this thing. Come on, it doesn't look too far away. Take your stuff, just incase of bandits." Jade instructed Emily. She always was the mature one.

Emily followed her directions and took out all of the important stuff from the car, grabbing her purse and handing Jade her own. Hesitantly, Emily said goodbye to her convertible as she and Jade walked towards the protected city for help. They walked alongside each other and didn't look back. Well, Emily didn't.

"Oh crap." Jade said as she turned back. Emily raised an eyebrow and did so as well, her jaw dropped.

They hadn't even walked for five minutes and the convertible was already gone.

"Where the hell did my car go?! It just vanished!" Emily yelled, then looked around to see if someone was driving off with her car. She was stumped to find out that her car was nowhere in sight. There weren't even any tire tracks. "Dude, what the hell?" She kicked the sand then turned around and dragged herself towards the desert. Jade snickered to herself as she followed.

"Good thing we brought cash, huh? I always figured that we'd end up somewhere without a ride home so I always carry enough money for both of us to stay in a hotel for a few nights." Jade said, and Emily looked at her with a small smile. Jade always thought ahead instead of Emily acting on impulse.

Emily always focused on what happened now. Jade always focused on the future.

"One night at hotel might not be as good as a concert but if it's with you, I can deal with it." Emily said warmly, and Jade nodded with a smile.

As they finally approached the walls of the protected city, they were greeted by two guards who were wearing strange clothes. The guards stood in their way from entering the city. The two friends almost thought it was funny that they thought the girls would be a threat. They stared at each other for a while. To the girls, the guards had some very strange clothing. The headband they wore with something like an hourglass seemed so familiar. But the guards also thought that the clothing of girls was very odd. Certainly not for this weather.

"Halt." The first guard said. "Where do you come from?"

"San Francisco." Answered Jade, she said it so professionally that the guards _almost _believed her.

"Which country is that in?" The second guard asked, raising an eyebrow at Jade.

"…The States? The one that we're in?" Jade said questioningly.

"We're in the Land of the Wind. Are you from one of the allied countries?" The second guard asked, looking at his partner wondering if they should believe the girls.

"Are we in freakin' Mexico? Did I drive all the way to Mexico? I'm pretty sure the States and Mexico are allies." Emily said, she was impatient and wanted to get into the protected city, now."

"Listen," Jade interjected. "We just really want to get inside the city. We were on our way to a concert but got lost and we can't get back home. We just want to stay in a hotel for a few nights and contact our parents to come pick us up. We have identification, if you need it." She reached into her purse and found her student I.D. card to show to them. Emily did the same.

"Jahdeh?" The first guard mispronounced her name.

"Emeelee?' The second guard mispronounced Emily's name.

"Uh, no." Emily said bluntly, annoyed that they butchered such simple names. "I'm Emily Cooper. This is my friend, Jade Reigns." Emily introduced herself and her friend.

"You both have strange names. But your information is all here. We've never heard of the States so just stay out of trouble." The first guard said. The second guard nodded them gave them a small smile.

"Enjoy your stay in Sunagakure."

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I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Be sure to review down below and give that little heart button a click! Bye, guys!


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